OPINION
6A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2016
Founded in 1873
DAVID F. PERO, Publisher & Editor
LAURA SELLERS, Managing Editor
BETTY SMITH, Advertising Manager
CARL EARL, Systems Manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN, Production Manager
DEBRA BLOOM, Business Manager
HEATHER RAMSDELL, Circulation Manager
Water
under
the bridge
Compiled by Bob Duke
From the pages of Astoria’s daily newspapers
10 years ago this week — 2006
Radar and GPS locators have replaced whale-oil lamps, but the Cape
Disappointment Lighthouse still shines its red-and-white beacon across
the mouth of the Columbia River.
About 90 people braved Sunday’s blustery weather to enjoy a rare
opportunity to tour inside the coastal landmark, part of a weekend-long
celebration at Cape Disappointment State Park commemorating the light-
house’s 150th anniversary.
The milestone came as the famous sentinel is about to change hands
from the U.S. Coast Guard to the park.
They line the port side balconies, leaning on the rails as
longshoremen secure the Celebrity’s cruise ship, the Mercury,
to Pier 1 in Astoria Monday.
They wait as U.S. immigration oficers secure the doors, the
captain lowers a ramp to the dock and the bar pilot disembarks.
Then, they’re here. For one day only, the 1,870 cruise pas-
sengers, plus about 900 crew members, pile into the river-
front trolley and shuttle buses and crowd into shops, museums,
restaurants and beaches on the North Coast.
Clatsop County oficials announced Wednesday they are negotiating
with Costco for the purchase of property in Warrenton on U.S. Highway
101.
The proposed deal, the source of rumors for the past several months,
involves 75 acres in the county’s North Coast Business Park, which the
company is seeking for the construction of a new, bigger store.
Northern Star natural Gas Co. delivered the news by way of
a 200-page public document. Its proposed liqueied natural gas
terminal at Bradwood Landing is “likely to adversely affect”
endangered species of chinook, chum and steelhead salmon,
and their habitat.
50 years ago — 1966
Workers returned to the construction project at the Crown-Zeller-
bach’s Wauna mill Monday morning after not reporting for work the last
three days of last week.
Pipeitters and sympathizing electricians stayed off the job because of
what they termed improper discharge.
NEWPORT — A rash of unidentiied lying object reports
in this area during the past several months had both believers
and skeptics today.
The reports, as recent as three days ago, included unex-
plained sightings ranging from spaceship-like craft to dough-
nut-shaped pulsating lights.
Fire destroyed the Reed and Hertig Meat Packing company plant on
Clatsop Plains Friday night in what police called a robbery-arson case.
Owners Robert Reed and Carl Hertig told police about $5,000 in checks
and cash was missing from a tin box in the cold-storage vault.
Almost the entire center of Reed and Hertig Packing plant on Clatsop
Plains was destroyed by fire. Only part not burned can be seen above.
Construction of the Astoria Bridge is very close to being in-
ished, project engineer Robert Cunningham of Oregon High-
way department reported Wednesday.
When the bridge was opened to trafic more than two
months ago, considerable inishing-up work remained to be
done.
75 years ago — 1941
Tourist travel still has its assured place in the national picture despite
the defense emergency and the Oregon coast country should reap its share
of this business during the whole emergency period, Governor Charles
Sprague told 150 members and guests of the Oregon Coast Highway
association at a convention banquet Monday night.
“There is no priority on scenery,” the governor said. “The coast high-
way is here and it will be maintained. You folks here on the coast will still
be able to attract people to your matchless scenery.”
Clatsop County’s production goals for the 1942 farm
defense program, calling chiely for increase in dairy and
poultry products, were established and approved by the
county USDA agricultural defense board at an all-day meet-
ing Tuesday.
A mysterious and unfragrant aroma pervaded much of western Clat-
sop County Wednesday night and Thursday, but no one seemed to know
what caused it.
Reports of the strange smell, which smellers thought came from all
sorts of sources — from “something dead,” to the pilchard reduction
plants on the Columbia River — ranged from Cannon Beach to Fort
Stevens.
The odor seemed to come from the sea, as reports told of diminishing
strength going inland.
SOUTHERN EXPOSURE
Cuddler’s tsunami survival tips
include getting a good, long hug
By R.J. MARX
The Daily Astorian
EASIDE — Where do you
start, with the tsunami or with
the cuddling?
Seaside native Cameron
McKirdy is dedicated to the wel-
fare of his fellow human beings.
He’s the founder of a quirky sur-
vival website. Now he’s cuddling
strangers. My thought is that he
wisely realizes after a catastrophe
we’re going to need all the emo-
tional support we can get.
McKirdy, 32, lives in his
Chevy G20 Van — something you
can observe on
YouTube, where
the “vandwelling
experience” is one
of 281 videos on
his channel. He’s
so successful at
drawing web trafic that YouTube
sends him checks.
“YouTube is where it’s at,”
McKirdy said. “I have about
6,000 YouTube subscribers on the
Survival Bros. channel. It’s not
really anything to brag about right
now, but it should be a source of
income in the future.”
McKirdy’s creative roots began
in Seaside. As an eighth-grader
at Broadway Middle School,
McKirdy and classmate Kevin Irish
co-wrote a column, “Shark Bytes,”
for the Seaside Signal. His father
Kelly McKirdy taught history in
the Seaside School District and
mom Brooke worked for the hos-
pital and as a wedding coordinator.
Younger brother Andrew works
for an adventure travel company in
Seattle and still teams with Cam on
special projects, like hot-dog eating
contests. The McKirdy brothers
were the only siblings on Major
League Eating’s “Top 50 gurgita-
tors rankings.”
“My parents think it’s pretty
crazy,” he said. “Everybody wants
me to jump back in line in society
and get a job.”
S
Ready for anything
Along with survival and prep-
ping tips, McKirdy’s Survival Bros.
YouTube channel offers advice
on how to get free dog food for
your pet or locate treasures at the
Goodwill store — a technique he
calls “extreme thrifting.” In one
video, he noshes on 26 sample
items at Costco.
If you’re tired of standard cable
fare, consider McKirdy’s “Trying
fresh elk jerky meat at the beach
in Seaside, Oregon,” “Using
Altoids survival tins for emergency
preparedness” and “Breaking car
windows with the Gerber LMF
II-Knife.”
“I’m trying to help people get
prepared,” McKirdy said.
Saving people is all in the
preparation, he said. “Tsunami
preparation and awareness now
— that’s how we can save people
when it happens.”
McKirdy considers the 2011
Japanese tsunami a precursor of
what could happen here. “We’ve
only got a couple days to get it
together,” McKirdy said. “Then
people will be charging $50 for
a gallon of water and trading and
bartering and wheeling and deal-
ing. If you don’t get prepared, then
it’s going to be hell.”
McKirdy offers tips on building
tarp shelters and using UV-light
Lyra Fontaine/EO Media Group
R.J. Marx gets a hug from Cam McKirdy in the Seaside Signal office.
Submitted Photo
Submitted photo
Cameron McKirdy, aka “Cam the
Cuddler.”
Rick McCrank of Vice TV gets a hug
from cuddler Cameron McKirdy.
puriiers to provide potable drink-
ing water. “It takes 90 seconds to
purify it with a wand,” he said. “I
even have a hand-crank UV-light
puriier.”
The single most important item
in an environmental catastrophe,
McKirdy said, is a stainless-steel
water bottle for holding water and
cooking. “Stainless steel is top on
the list.”
If the ground started to shake
“right this minute,” he said, his
bug-out bike is ready to roll. “I’d
be going straight up 12th. Hit the
road and take off.”
You can play video games while
cuddling with Cameron.
“We do free consultations irst,
and we make sure they know
there’s nothing sexual about it,”
he said. “I want everyone to know
they are appreciated, and worthy of
touch.”
McKirdy called the experience
“touch positive.” Among his
clients are introverts, extroverts,
people with disabilities and health
care professionals, he said. “You
really have to tailor a cuddling
session based on the individual,”
he said.
“I did overnight cuddling with
a lady who was in an abusive rela-
tionship,” McKirdy said. “I helped
her start dating again after two
years. There are others who haven’t
been touched by a man for over
25 years. I get them used to that
concept again and they know I’m a
safe person.”
Clients become members of
his “chosen family.” Cost is $1 a
minute.
Considering the crazy, insecure
and perilous world in which
we live, McKirdy aka Cam the
Cuddler may be on the right track.
He has his eye on Mother Nature
and an embrace for his fellow man.
There could be a day when we
need all those hugs. And the hand-
cranked water puriiers could come
in handy, too.
R.J. Marx is The Daily Asto-
rian’s South County reporter and
editor of the Seaside Signal and
Cannon Beach Gazette.
Cuddle Up to Me
There’s another side to McKirdy
as “Cam the Cuddler,” who may
be found offering hugs on the
Prom for a suggested $5 gratuity.
His cuddling career took a giant
step when he earned “certiied
cuddler” accreditation at the
world-renowned Cuddle Up to Me
in Portland. He’s been cuddling for
the last year.
“I’m trying to get my face
out there,” McKirdy said. “The
cuddling is paying a little bit of the
bills. I like it. It’s a blast.”
McKirdy works for Samantha
Hess, founder of Cuddle Up to Me.
He’s the only male in the house,
offering, according to the website,
“a kind and gentle soul with an
open ear and an embrace that will
melt your troubles away. Your
session will surely cure what ails
you.”
Here is an interesting hook: